There's a number of people and companies that deal with "strategy." "Strategic Planning, Strategy Consultants, and more. But what is it, and does it really matter? The word came into the English language around 1810, and by contrast, "tactics" came into use 200 years earlier. People had discussed "tactics," but it wasn't until 1810 that Carl Von Clausewitz began using it in battle. It began with 3 basic steps: ... read more

I starting thinking the other day about my work as a media consultant for non-profit and religious organizations. At Cooke Pictures, we have some wonderful clients, who are genuinely attempting to do great things in the media, and we're thrilled to be part of their team. But as I look over my career, I realize now that I've spent at least 35-40% of my time at many organizations negotiating the minefields of overly sensitive people. I'm talking about people who are insecure - people who get their feelings hurt at the drop of a hat, or think every suggestion or change in a project is a personal criticism of them or their past decisions. ... read more

Reading the newspaper or listening to the TV news makes it hard not to wonder about the economy. Some say it's getting stronger, while others protest it's in a serious crisis. It takes up the majority of the presidential candidates speech time, and it's pretty much 24/7 on the cable news channels. Whatever is going on, it's important that non-profits understand the connections between the economy and giving. There's little empirical data out there on the issue, but experience is a good teacher, and you need some tools to work with as your consider your strategy for the coming months. Here are my thoughts on the current economic situation and how it could impact your organization. I would encourage you to meet with your team and make sure they understand these important principles: ... read more

I often make fun of what I call the "Christian media bubble." For those non-believers in the audience, that simply means people who live inside Christian radio, publishing, TV, or music. For an earlier generation, people of faith actually interacted with the surrounding culture. But 30-40 years ago, when we noticed the Christian audience was a buying audience, we stopped preaching to the world, and started preaching to each other. As a result, ... read more

On Friday, I was interviewed in Dallas on the Daystar Television Network about my new book "Branding Faith." One of the questions host Marcus Lamb asked me was about failure. As we attempt to be original and innovative in trying to communicate our message to the culture, what happens if we fail? Is it OK? I responded with a resounding "Yes." In fact, I told him what I teach our staff at Cooke Pictures. I tell them to "fail big." I want my team to fail because they dreamed big, stretched too far, over-reached, or tried something new. I don't want them to fail because ... read more

Many TV evangelists are rich because of greed. But not their greed. It's our greed. An earlier generation donated money to help those in need. Growing up, my mother taught us about those "less fortunate" and we gave because the Bible expressed great concern about the poor and suffering. But as I grew up, a concept came along that turned giving on its head. ... read more

Here are ways you can help spread the story of "Branding Faith" so that more religious organizations and non-profits can learn to share their story in today's media driven culture. The rules for communicating in the 21st century have changed, and pastors, ministry, non-profit, and business leaders - need this information more than ever. Here's how you can help: ... read more

Here are some thoughts worth considering on how to lead an organization or team in the new digital media world. The most important aspect of the digital world is that's not top-down. Traditional media is top-down - meaning, one program is sent out through radio or TV and if you miss it, it's over. It's a one way street. But digital media is about two way communication. The key concept to remember is that the digital media world is about personalization, and it's interactive. Today we can download or TIVO programs when we want it, where we want it, and how we want it. It's ... read more

Remember back on January 3rd 2007, when Pat Robertson on Fox News gave this prediction - as Gretchen Carlson reported: "Today on the show we talked about New Year's predictions, specifically from evangelist Pat Robertson. His big prediction is that a major terrorist attack will happen somewhere in the U.S. after September of this year and it will affect millions of people. He says he received word from God about this event. He's put out predictions before -- some right and some wrong. Hopefully he will not be right about this one." Need I say more? ... read more

Interesting to read the responses to my last post on handling a crisis. After reading some responses, I thought it might be good to write a little on AVOIDING a crisis to begin with. As I said before, it's impossible to completely avoid issues like this - especially in larger organizations with many employees. And as some readers mentioned, it's not about rules - because you can't always enforce rules. Integrity has to be a part of the organization's culture. ... read more